Well, our two four stars –Â firstly with Womble in Rolex and then Alfie here at Badminton -are complete. Neither went exactly to plan but there are a lot of positives to take from both competitions.
Yesterday, seeing as the cross country was not over-technical,, it was always going to be a given that the showjumping would be up to height and related. There weren’t a lot of clear rounds which made the competition interesting.
I would have to say Alfie was an absolute star, he jumped beautifully until I got a very bad distance to a vertical on a related four strides to an oxer. He didn’t deserve to have these two fences as they were totally my fault. And even driving home now I find it quite hard to deal with the fact I was responsible for those rails. But, like anything, you can’t dwell on the negatives and you have to pick yourself up and move forwards.
It’s time now for Alfie to have a nice break. It was very satisfying to complete Badminton again, and the other big positive for me today is that Alfie categorically told me on the last day of a tough four star, if I give him a good ride, he will bust a gut to jump clear.
Now that the two experienced boys are done with their spring goals it’s time to concentrate on the younger horses again, and spend some nice time with the children who have been a bit neglected by me over the last few days.
Cheers
Bill
Posted 11th May
